Author
Topic: Grain for just color (Read 2394 times)

I am working on a Nut Brown ale recipe, and would like to adjust the color a little darker/more brown without changing the flavor or gravity. I seem to recall a grain that is made for this purpose, but my grain cheat sheet doesn't list it.

I am working on a Nut Brown ale recipe, and would like to adjust the color a little darker/more brown without changing the flavor or gravity. I seem to recall a grain that is made for this purpose, but my grain cheat sheet doesn't list it.

What do you suggest?

tiny bit of caraffa? added late in the mash or cold steeped with the 'tea' added to the boil? or that caraffa extract stuff cinemar (?)

In my experience you are not going to find a grain that "just adds color". There are ways to reduce the amount of flavor it will add, but you will still get some flavor. Sinmar is probably the best route to go to just add color.

denny and keith are correct, IMO, but Briess Midnight Wheat (?) has worked well for me in that I can add just a few ounces to a 12gal batch and I don't get anything I can detect out of it. I think it might even be welcome in a NBA.

Logged

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

A dark huskless malt (Midnight wheat, Carafa special) is probably the best choice. I just gave cold-steeping a try for my recent Alt and I'm impressed by how much smoother it is than even just capping the mash. I can barely detect any flavor from the Carafa in this Alt, but I got noticible roastiness in a recent amber from capping the mash with an ounce of Carafa III.

The dilemma is caused by me being, at this level of experience, a recipe brewer. So I hesitate to change a proven recipe. The recipe does have 1/4 lb. of chocolate malt, that I thought about bumping up in order to get the color that I think would be appropriate. Right now, according to BeerSmith it is at 14.3 SRM. That just seems too much on the light side IMO.

A dark huskless malt (Midnight wheat, Carafa special) is probably the best choice. I just gave cold-steeping a try for my recent Alt and I'm impressed by how much smoother it is than even just capping the mash. I can barely detect any flavor from the Carafa in this Alt, but I got noticible roastiness in a recent amber from capping the mash with an ounce of Carafa III.

A dark huskless malt (Midnight wheat, Carafa special) is probably the best choice. I just gave cold-steeping a try for my recent Alt and I'm impressed by how much smoother it is than even just capping the mash. I can barely detect any flavor from the Carafa in this Alt, but I got noticible roastiness in a recent amber from capping the mash with an ounce of Carafa III.

Is there an online resource that describes this process?

There are a lot of ways to do this. I just crushed a couple of ounces of Carafa III and steeped it in about a quart of water overnight at ambient temp. I then added it to the boil with my first late hop addition.